| RefNo | EC/1997/41 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Eisner, Thomas: certificate of election to the Royal Society |
| Date | 1996 |
| Description | Certificate of Candidate for Election to Foreign Membership. Citation typed |
| Citation | Thomas Eisner is one of the pioneers of chemical ecology the discipline dealing with the chemical interactions of organisms. After hearing his seminal paper at the Conference in Vienna in 1960, I have frequently described him as the 'inventor of Chemical Ecology'. With brilliant experiments both in the laboratory and field, he has shown that insects depend on special chemicals for virtually every aspect of survival. For example he has shown that in the moth 'Utetheisa ornatrix' an alkaloid collected from the larval food plant protects the larvae, the eggs, and is passed to the female with the sperm packet. He has also characterised the ultraviolet pigments of flowers visible to insect pollinators.
Eisner understands the importance of photography and film making for teaching and popularising science and has made a number of award winning documentary films both in the U.S.A. and U.K. About 30 of his scientific and technical articles have appeared as cover stories in the periodical Science.
Eisner has argued forcefully for the preservation of biological diversity, as an imperative for the safeguarding of the chemical and genetic resources of nature. He has played a key role in efforts to preserve wilderness areas in Florida and Texas. More recently he helped broker a contractual agreement between a pharmaceutical company (Merck, Sharp and Dohme) and a developing nation (Costa Rica), whereby financial resources are provided for preservation of the Costa Rican rainforest. He has served on various boards of prestigious conservation organizations (Nature Conservancy, National Audubon Soiciety, Union of Concerned Scientists) and has been active in world-wide human rights efforts .
Eisner is a quiet and unusually modest individual and is recognised as a man of outstanding integrity and generosity and is regarded by his peers with both warmth and respect.
He received the National Medal of Science 1994 |
| AccessStatus | Closed |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA4707 | Eisner; Thomas (1929 - 2011) | 1929 - 2011 |